Top names left out amid Tiger Woods/Rory McIlroy buzz

AUGUSTA, Ga. – One is the proud owner of three green jackets, his most recent acquisition coming two years ago. Another is No.1 in the world rankings, and has been for 61 of the past 63 weeks.

Feel free to include the only guy with two PGA Tour wins this year, who also happens to be the highest-ranked American. Or the man with six top-3 finishes in the past 15 majors.

Consider them the forgotten men of this Masters.

While so much conversation around Augusta National has lasered in on Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, no fewer than a half-dozen rivals are flying under the radar wondering where their names fit in the dialogue.

"I think it's a little naïve to say that they are the only two that have a chance to win around here," said Luke Donald, who wrested the No.1 ranking back from McIlroy when he won three Sundays ago outside Tampa.

Geez, wasn't it only a few weeks ago that one of the leading pre-Masters storylines was all the top-tier pros heading to Augusta with their games well sharpened. Then Woods ran off with the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and the focus took a major shift.

"I think that the landscape has changed a great deal," said ESPN analyst Curtis Strange.

Woods never fails to move the needle, now with momentum to rejoin his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus' record 18 major titles. McIlroy is the new breed, with the added incentive of redeeming himself for last year's back-nine meltdown.

Then there is everyone else.

"Rory has never won here. Tiger's not won here since 2005," said Lee Westwood, still No.3 with those half-dozen recent close calls in majors.

"I think everybody in this room would have to be naïve to think it was a two-horse race. There's more. I thinkPhil [Mickelson] might have a little bit of something to say about that. Luke might; I might."

Mickelson, who can match Woods with a fourth green jacket, got the current cycle of high-profile winners started. A Sunday 64 – with Woods paired as a witness – led to a Pebble Beach runaway.

Don't forget, too, that Mickelson also went home with the green jacket two years ago when Woods made his re-entry from scandal purgatory. Yet even Lefty has been largely left out of the conversation.

Not that he seems all that unhappy about things. "I'm cool with it," Mickelson said. "I am where I am and I'm fine with it."

Donald, meanwhile, owns five victories in the past 14 months. Hunter Mahan's triumph in Houston was his second in a six-week span; he's now No.4 in the rankings.

Each of the past six PGA Tour stops, meantime, has been won by a player currently in the top 10. Woods and McIlroy each have one, yes; the rest belong to Donald, Justin Rose and Mahan's two.

"Tiger is always the guy that pushes the needle the most, and obviously Rory gets a lot of attention now," Donald said. "But for me, that's probably a good thing. I can kind of go about my business and just get on with things."

No one would be surprised, though, if the green jacket winds up around one of the forgotten men's shoulders.